Nowadays, medical scrubs come in all sorts of different shapes, colors, and sizes. Because of all of the diversity in modern-day scrub attire, certain hospitals and medical institutions alike choose to implement a standard color-coded uniform for their employees. A color-coded scrub uniform has varying effects on caregivers, patients, and the hospital as a whole. Below is a list of five benefits to consider when making the decision to implement new color-coded scrub uniforms.

Patient Satisfaction

Keeping patients happy and healthy are two of the biggest responsibilities of any health facility.  Beside the moral obligation to ensure patient health, if the patients are also happy then they will likely return to the same facility and encourage their family and friends to do the same.  Repeat visits play an important role in the health business model.  A great way to promote comfort and happiness in patients is through coordinated uniforms.  Particularly in the hospital setting, patients have shown to exhibit higher levels of anxiety due to the unfamiliar environment.  According to an article written for The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, as much as 55% of patients struggle to identify who is entering their room and what department they work for.  This added level of stress that the majority of patients experience could be completely alleviated with a color-coded uniform that would clearly show who is who.

Employee Identity

In a modern-day hospital setting everybody wears scrubs and uniforms from the surgeons to the receptionist.  Combined with the sheer size of many hospitals, it can be rather difficult for employees to know who is doing what job.  Of course, there are badges with identifying information, but those are hard to read from afar.  In the case of an emergency it would be crucial to identify an employee at a glance.  You wouldn’t want to confuse a nurse with someone working in janitorial services.  By assigning specific colors to specific departments of a hospital, everyone’s role would become more apparent, which would benefit both patients and employees alike.  Police officers and firefighters are easily identifiable by their uniforms – health workers should be too.

Team Building

Much like professional sports players, healthcare workers can also receive a boost in morale and motivation when they feel as though they are part of a team.  A great way to unify employees like this is with color-coded uniforms.  Along with the sense of pride comes admiration from others as well.  Maybe a nursing assistant who wears green scrubs would idolize the blue scrubs worn by registered nurses.  The combination of pride and admiration creates a work culture where employees are happy and motivated to stay, which is especially important since nurse attrition rates are so high. 

Making Mornings Easy

A more personal benefit of implementing color-coded scrubs in a health facility is how simple it is getting ready for work.  Mornings can be tough, especially if you find yourself waking up from another long and extensive shift.  With color-coded scrubs you can cut down on the time you might spend picking an outfit and get a bit more sleep instead.  Some health workers express concern due to the limit they think they might be able to express themselves especially if they are limited to solid scrubs. 

Branding

Beyond just giving employees a clearer identity, color-coded scrubs could give any hospital or health facility a more cohesive identity overall.  Nowadays, patients have multiple options for healthcare facilities forcing these facilities to compete for patients.  Something as simple as dressing the same could give one facility the advantage over the other.

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